Peterborough tourist park Australia's favourite - again

THE warm welcome given to guests by the Great Ocean Road (GOR) Tourist Park at Peterborough has again won it the title of Australia’s favourite holiday park.

THE warm welcome given to guests by the Great Ocean Road (GOR) Tourist Park at Peterborough has again won it the title of Australia’s favourite holiday park.

Award-winning tourist park operators Sarah and Dean Hellessey with their children Toby and Lily.

The tourist park won the title from four other state finalists that included resort parks in Queensland and NSW.

It is the second time the park has won the award from the national holiday accommodation website, turu.com.au

The award is conferred on the state finalist that receives the most votes on the website from the general public.

Park co-operator Sarah Hellessey said she and her husband Dean had extensively upgraded the park’s facilities during their time there over the past decade but she believed it was the hospitality shown to guests that won them the award.

“We have a very loyal group of customers who feel we are deserving of the award,” Mrs Hellessey said.

“We are a family-friendly park. We are also in a great part of the world.”

While the park was located close to the Twelve Apostles and other scenic attractions of the Great Ocean Road, it offered a peaceful, relaxing setting, Mrs Hellessey said.

Many of the park’s regular guests were from the south-west including Warrnambool.

Those from the region often stayed at the park for long weekends and rebooked for the following year, Mrs Hellessey said.

The park, which is nestled behind trees on the Great Ocean Road on the western side of the Curdies River, has more than 100 sites including 11 cabins and about 50 resident-owned sites.

Mrs Hellessey said the win was an accolade not only for the park but also for Peterborough.